Philadelphia 76ers: You need to be willing to ride or die with Shake Milton

The Philadelphia 76ers were in a bit of a rough spot last night.

Despite receiving yet another historic performance from the likes of Joel Embiid, and better contributions from Tobias Harris and Seth Curry on the offensive end, the 76ers were actually trailing with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter. Even with Ben Simmons doing an exceptional job defending Trae Young, the game was right there for the taking for Atlanta. Had the Hawks capitalized on the situation, we could be looking at a scenario where Philly would be heading on the road down 2-0 in the series – a kiss of death for teams in the postseason.

The primary reason for the Sixers’ early struggles last night? The bench, more specifically the bench’s inability to score the basketball. Prior to the 2:41 mark in the third quarter, Doc Rivers’ bench unit had yet to score a single point.

Then Shake Milton happened.

A player who a majority of the Sixers fanbase had soured on due to a rocky first round series against the Washington Wizards, Milton exploded onto the scene last night looking more resemblant of a player who was once considered a “Sixth Man of the Year” candidate. Milton finished with 14 points in just 14 minutes of action, going 4-5 from three and 6-8 from the field. Shake’s burst of offense was just enough to carry Philly over the hump, securing a much-needed Game 2 victory at home.

While Doc Rivers’ decision to put Milton into the ballgame was nothing more than a shot in the dark, a “desperation” play at best, it’s something that needs to remain a mainstay in the team’s game-planning moving forward. Even with his rocky Wizards performance fresh in our minds, the Philadelphia 76ers simply need to be willing to ride or die with Milton for the rest of the postseason.

For better or worse, the Philadelphia 76ers should continue to lean on Shake Milton for bench scoring this postseason.

As good as guys like George Hill, Tyrese Maxey, and Matisse Thybulle have been off the bench for Philly during the regular season, none of them are natural, aggressive scorers like Milton. Maxey has his moments, but he’s still a rookie who is in the process of adjusting to his first postseason experience. Milton on the other hand is a player who’s not only played in the postseason before, but actually started games in the postseason before.

More from Section 215

Shake is a bit of a loose cannon at times, and his defense hasn’t been the greatest thing to watch, but his desire to score and hunt looks is exactly what the Sixers bench unit needs moving forward. Doc Rivers’ starting five is good enough to score 90+ points a night, all they need from their bench squad is someone who can chip in 10-15 points on half-decent shooting.

Milton’s aggressiveness alone was a welcome sign last night after watching Hill and Maxey endlessly dribble the ball around in the half court setting. Even when Milton’s shots didn’t fall, you could see the stress that he was inducing on the Hawks defense.

One of the big reasons Daryl Morey avoided making multiple big moves this past trade deadline was due to the confidence he had in some of the team’s younger scorers. Whether you agree with that logic or not, we’re now in a position where Doc Rivers has limited options. He simply has to let a guy like Shake Milton play his game in the postseason.

Related Story. Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid’s MVP campaign comes up just short. light

As long as the starting five continues to perform the way they have been, Milton coming off the bench and chipping in a few buckets here and there is likely all the bench production the 76ers are going to need for the rest of this Atlanta series. If Milton fails to replicate his Game 2 performance moving forward, then oh well, you can at least sit there and say you tried to generate more bench offense, as opposed to being complacent with the group’s 30+ minute scoreless drought that we saw on Tuesday.